LIFE HISTORY OF A SAVAGE. 789 
houses where his friends and relatives lived; and then, weary and 
tired, they took him home to die; and when he passed away, 
they mourned for him with loud and bitter wailing, varied with 
curses against those who had caused his death. 
Tepang being a chief was not buried at sea as other and poorer 
people were. A chair was made, called a koromia, and on this he 
was seated. He was then bathed. After this he was decorated 
with necklaces, wreaths of flowers, and feathers and decked out 
in full war paint. Then they put a spear in his right hand, his 
club was put over his shoulder, and some ginger plants in his 
mouth, the mask of a warrior and a large cooked yam were put in 
his hand. They gave him his weapons that he might fight his 
way against any who tried to hinder him from going to the spirit 
land, matana nion, whilst the food was for him to eat on his long 
journey. There was, of course, the usual jumping-off place for all 
spirits, but it was often difficult for them to get there. The 
friends and relatives then brought coils of money (diwara), neck- 
laces, ornaments, &c., and placed them in front of the dead chief, 
and before taking them aw ay they broke off small portions on the 
fire which was burning there. Tepang’s spirit was supposed to 
take all this property (the spirit of it) to spirit land and so enter 
there asarich man. After this certain ceremonies were performed 
to find out the name of the evil spirit who had caused the death, 
and also to find out the man who had bewitched Tepang, and got 
the evil spirit to compass his death. Tepang was then placed on 
a platform, and, whilst the process of decay went on, the relatives 
sat round, regardless of the stench, as they thought in so doing 
they would get some of the dead chief’s courage and knowledge. 
Some of them would even anoint their bodies with the dripping 
from the platform for the same purpose. When the head became 
detached it was carefully preserved by the nearest relative, whilst 
the body was buried in a house at a very shallow depth. A fire 
was made on the top of it, and the relatives slept in the house. 
All the relatives blackened their faces for a long time, and after- 
wards the skull was put on a platform and dances were held 
round it for many nights. Up to this time Tepang’s spirit was 
supposed to be somewhere about, but after this he was not to 
trouble them any more. They had done all they could for him, 
and as a properly-behaved spirit he should now keep to his own 
place. Where that place was they did not know. ‘The spirits of 
common people were supposed to stay about the caves and holes 
in the rocks and to eat rubbish, but those of men like Tepang, 
who had been a warrior and, above all, a generous man, went to 
a good place and were well fed. The only definite punishment I 
ever heard of was in the case of a niggard, and the punishment of 
such a man they told me was that the spirits took him and 
bumped him against the big slab rcots of the chestnut tree. 
